From the Philadelphia Public Schools Notebook.
35 advocacy groups ask legislators to fix special education funding
by Brett Schaeffer
Pennsylvania last year adopted a landmark funding formula for basic education, putting more dollars into the neediest schools and implementing rigorous accountability measures for school districts.
However, special education students have been left out of the equation.
A coalition of groups is now sending the message that it’s time for the General Assembly to approach special education funding with the same sharp eye its members approached basic education funding in 2008.
The state’s new basic education funding formula was based on a 2007 “costing-out” study, conducted by the private education policy consulting firm Augenblick, Palaich and Associates, Inc. Though the study recommended that special education be funded based on student and district needs, a new funding system for students with disabilities was not part of the 2008 reforms.
Now, using the findings from a new February 2009 Augenblick report, more than 35 disabilities advocacy groups throughout Pennsylvania are rallying support for a bill to reform special education funding.
“In 2008, the General Assembly and the Governor reformed state funding for basic education, based on the 2007 ‘costing-out’ study. Similar improvements are now needed for special education funding if the education finance system is to be whole,” said Janis Risch, executive director of Good Schools Pennsylvania, in the new report.
The report indicates that nearly 400 school districts are inadequately funding special education, averaging an annual shortfall of almost $1 million per district. Statewide, the total gap in annual funding for special education is $380 million. The average per pupil shortfall is $1,947, based on a total of 195,000 students in the districts that have a funding gap.
The report, which was funded by the Education Law Center, the Disability Rights Network, and The Arc of Pennsylvania, identifies fundamental needs that often go underserved, such as proper teacher training, investment in assistive technology devices and materials, and support programs.
The report also underscores the importance of finishing the funding reforms begun last year and outlines the broader benefits special education funding reform would provide to the entire school community, including reduced teacher turnover, improved classroom culture, and stronger overall education programs.
The School District of Philadelphia, which educates the greatest number of special education students in Pennsylvania, had a special education funding gap of more than $17 million in 2006-07, the year analyzed in the report.
While Philadelphia’s per student funding gap – approximately $500 – is certainly not as wide as special education funding shortfalls in other districts, figures from the Pennsylvania State Data Center show that Philadelphia is coming up short in its outcomes for special education students.
Data Center numbers reveal a 30 percent dropout rate for Philadelphia’s special education high school students – more than double the statewide average. And while more than 300 of the state’s 501 districts have met their Adequate Yearly Progress targets for special education students under the No Child Left Behind law, Philadelphia has not.
Put simply, reforming the special education funding formula can help Philadelphia improve its outcomes. All students benefit when special education students receive instruction that prepares them for meaningful employment, higher education, and self-sufficiency.
To see the full February 2009 report and data on Pennsylvania special education funding, including those for the School District of Philadelphia, go to www.reformspecialedfunding.org.
Friday, March 13, 2009
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From today's Phila. Inquirer.
Editorial: Obama's Plan
Fixing the schools
President Obama may have the right lesson plan to finally fix the country's failing schools. In his first major speech on education, Obama fulfilled a campaign pledge to initiate a long-overdue overhaul of the public education system.
The president put all stakeholders on notice that he plans to make sweeping changes at every level, from kindergarten to college.
In his boldest moves, Obama wants to link teachers' pay to student performance and expand the number of charter schools. Those issues go to the heart of what is wrong with the public education system: Too many schools are straddled with bad teachers and too many students with no other choice are stuck in failing schools.
His positions on merit pay and charters put Obama at odds with many in the Democratic Party and with one of its most powerful constituents, the teachers unions, which have cautiously endorsed the plan, for now.
The plan announced Tuesday offered few specifics on what performance pay would mean for teachers. It should mean rewarding the best teachers with more money when they improve student achievement.
Republicans will like Obama's support for more charters but are likely to oppose spending $5 billion to expand early childhood education, even though preschool and kindergarten have yielded proven results.
Obama is on point in calling for states to lift rules that limit the number of charter schools. Philadelphia's experience, with some charters being investigated for mismanagement and misspending, shows oversight is critical. But charters do offer students a viable alternative when regular schools are sorry.
Obama's education speech didn't sit well with critics who say he should focus solely on trying to jump-start the recession economy. But the president is right to not put off an education agenda that is less about politics and more about doing what is best for students.
Public schools will get about $100 billion in new funding under the economic-stimulus package. Obama's education plan stresses accountability and urges states to set more rigorous, uniform academic standards.
The president also suggested longer school days and an extended school year. That would bring the United States in line with Asian countries, where students are performing better academically.
In making his remarks at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Obama acknowledged the obstacles facing Latino students, who have a 50-percent dropout rate in most cities, including Philadelphia. Black students are leaving school prematurely at a similar alarming rate.
Obama must still deal with the 2002 federal No Child Left Behind law, which was not addressed in his speech. The law should either be reauthorized with some changes, including adequate funding, or replaced with another measure that similarly holds schools accountable and requires states to test students annually in language arts and math.
Even in difficult economic times, public education must be a top priority. It's good to see Obama knows that.
Or you could follow the example set by the Morrisville School Board:
1. Try to get names, ranks, & serial #'s of Special Ed. students, seemingly in an effort to root out anyone you think is not truly in need of Special Ed. services, even though as Board members you have no expertise or credentials in this area;
2. Take the Administration's requested Special Ed. budget amounts and arbitrarily chop them back;
3. Hope and pray the actual amounts spent don't go over the chopped budget amounts;
4. Pat yourselves on the back and act like you know what you're doing if the actual amount spent stays within the arbitrarily cut budget;
5. Blame someone or something else (it doesn't matter what or whom, but the Courier Times, Sandy Gibson, pro-school losers, Sony Playstations, and the "prior board" are convenient) if the actual amount spent exceeds the arbitrarily cut budget.
Note: this same approach can (and is) also easily applied to Alternative Schools, Charter Schools, and other programs.
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